Entries in Petrolicious
(2)

The folks at Petrolicious sent over their latest video, and it hit a chord. For years the De Tomaso Pantera has suffered for not being pure-blooded. It’s Italian bodywork was drawn by an American living in Italy and working for Ghia — Tom Tjaarda — and hid a 351 Ford V8 under its taut lines. If that wasn’t blasphemy enough, it was sold through Lincoln-Mercury dealers where it would rub shoulders with the Mercury Bobcat (a badge-engineered Pinto), German-built Capri, Montego, Marquis and Lincoln Town Car, and sold by salesmen that looked like Herb Tarlek from TV’s WKRP in Cincinnati.

Though I’ve never driven one, the other half has owned two; a yellow car with chrome bumpers that was followed by a Group 4 that was the late Warren Tope’s spare race car. She and her late husband, along with a gaggle of car-mad friends, took that car from a pile of parts to a complete and road worthy vehicle over a couple of years. So when this film about a man and his company car came across my desk, I both understood and couldn’t resist. And, just to round it out, we’ve included the Jay Leno’s Garage episode on the Pantera. Enjoy. — CAS

The following two films form the folks at Petrolicious take a look at the Ferrari 330 P4 — one of the most achingly beautiful endurance racers ever created — and the Sunoco Ferrari 512 M race in period by David Hobbs and Mark Donohue. The P4 went head-to-head with the Ford GT Mk IV and came up short, while the Penske-run 512 M — dogged by misfortune and bad luck — brought “spit and polish” preparation to Europe. Both are important cars, but their most seductive feature is the sound of their V12 engines. Sit back, relax and enjoy the noise real racing cars used to make.